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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Cardmakers Need This!

Not sure what I was doing this week but obviously it was not writing posts! I do have a few cards I will be sharing this week but today I wanted to tell you guys about the First-Class Mail Shape-Based Pricing Template.

I have posted about it before, years ago, and thought I would post about it again since I just used mine to check a few cards that I was putting in the mail. I think this is one of the handiest things for cardmakers to have since we often like to make cards of different sizes and thickness. I know a few people did check with their post offices and they weren't able to get one but I did find where you can buy online at Stamps.com! The First-Class Mail Shape-Based Template is $7.99 and like I said I got mine free but I think it would be worth the price if you are concerned about your cards or smaller packages needing extra postage. You can purchase one HERE from Stamps.com or you might check with your local post office.

The one at Stamps.com looks a little different than mine but from the pictures on their website it looks to have the same information.

This is a picture of a gusset envelope I made and was checking to see if it fit through the slot. If it drops through freely then no extra postage is needed due to thickness. If you look at the blue shaded area on the right hand side of the picture you can see that if the envelope falls within that area then no extra postage is needed either. Square card always need extra postage since they fall out of the range at the top, I don't think that is right but they didn't ask me when they set the rules.

4 comments:

Thanks!!!! I need one of these. I have failed to send cards from time to time because wasn't sure of how much postage to put on, Other times I will put on extra stamps just to be sure. Don't know how I missed this the first time around. :)

You know me ... I generally make larger sized cards, add layers and layers of embellishs, and then put them in 5x7 bubble envelopes to protect them ... so they ALWAYS require extra postage. However, I am never really sure "how much" extra postage to put on them. I tend to add more stamps then are probably necessary, just to be sure they arrive without postage due. The last thing I want is for the recipients to have to pay to get a card from me. I think I could really benefit with having this handy little guide ... for me, it would likely pay for itself within a very short time. Thanx for reminding us about this postage guide/template again.

Thank you for this info! I would also like to know how much extra postage you need for a square 5 or 6 in envelope. I have avoided making square or circle cards just because of this. Thanks in advance.